


A Journey of (Self-)Discovery

by Charity_Angel



Series: Tales from Kamino (and beyond) [3]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Asexuality, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Casual Sex, Clonecest, Demisexuality, F/M, Kink Discovery, M/M, Promiscuity, Self-Discovery, Sex Education
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 14:15:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8581675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charity_Angel/pseuds/Charity_Angel
Summary: In which the 501st clones first discover 79s.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This... got away from me. It was supposed to be the story of how Dipstick got his name, and it turned into... this.

Some kind civil servants had set up a place the clone troopers could go on their downtime to unwind. Some brothers seemed a little confused by the concept, but a lot of the 501st were familiar with it. Jesse and his birth-squad had been teaching the vod’e sabaac since they were seven – something their instructors had approved of.

First chance they got on Coruscant, a group of them grabbed a cab and headed off to 79s. They all exchanged glances as they were decanted into a plaza in front of the club: the noise spilling from the building was _loud_. It wasn’t anything they were used to, but Jesse was grinning, and Aurek and 4245 were exactly the same. Kix exchanged a glance with Rex and Besh: they were clearly as uncertain as him, but willing to go along for their  vod'e.

Brothers in red – the Coruscant and Senate guard – greeted them cheerfully. A couple of them – who introduced themselves as Blast and 8522 – introduced the group to the concept of the ‘bar’, and presented them with alcohol. Beer, at first, but other things were brought out as time went on. Some of the whiskeys were better than others, to Kix’s palette at least. Jesse seemed perfectly happy with any of them. Aurek and Besh argued over the virtues of brandies. For supposedly completely identical brothers, they were certainly turning out to have different taste buds.

The most curious thing was that the clones weren’t alone in the club. There were a few civilians hanging around too: mostly women. Some human, but there were Twi’leks, Zeltrons, and… was that a Zabrak? They seemed to be eyeing them curiously, and with interest.

Kix’s attention was diverted somewhat by Jesse draping himself across his lap. His eyes were shining with cheer, and he nuzzled into Kix’s neck. At least three of the women seemed disappointed, turning back to their drinks. But any thought of reasons why that might be were totally diverted by Jesse and the hand that was unhooking his armour. Kix was pretty sure that wasn’t any more acceptable on Coruscant than it was in the public areas on Kamino, and tried to stop him. Somewhat halfheartedly, admittedly.

“Not here,” he hissed. “Wait ‘til we get back.”

Jesse redoubled his efforts to remove Kix’s codpiece.

“No lube,” Kix reminded him.

“Don’t need lube to suck you.”

“Not. Here.”

“Killjoy.”

“We could always just sleep when we get out of here?” he suggested, innocently. And then it clicked why the women had looked disappointed, because Jesse adopted the same expression. Admittedly, his was somewhat in jest, but it was the same. They had been interested in having sex with him? Or with Jesse, which seemed the more likely.

4245 and Aurek were observing the gaggle of civvies with interest. 8522 nudged them both, grinning.

“You just need to go over and say hi,” he said cheerfully, “and they’ll make you forget the war’s even happening for the rest of the night.”

“And you’ll have plenty of material to see yourself through lonely times,” Blast added.

4245 was the first to venture forth, cheered on by Aurek and the two Senate guards. Rex was shaking his head at the inanity of it all, and sipping at his brandy slowly.

Kix watched, fascinated, as 4245 introduced himself to the women. Promptly, the bright pink Zeltron woman sat herself across 4245’s lap, straddling him. She took his head between her hands and kissed him soundly. Jesse squirmed and groaned.

“That’s _gorgeous_ ,” he moaned into Kix’s ear.

Kix supposed there might be a certain aesthetic value to it, but women had never really done very much for him. Neither had men, or any brother other than Jesse, come to that. Jesse, for all that Kix didn’t doubt that Jesse loved him, had a lot of appreciation for others. They knew brothers who stood to attention for a pretty woman, and those who preferred men. Those like Jesse who had no preference. Some who only liked humans, some who preferred Twi’leks, or Zeltrons, or Togruta. And some who just didn’t seem to react that way at all. Maybe they were like Kix, everyone had mused, and they just hadn’t found their ‘Jesse’ yet. Or maybe sex just wasn’t a thing that everyone wanted. Jesse had stumbled across the term ‘asexual’ on the HoloNet, which seemed a fairly broad term, but seemed to confirm the latter.

They had all been fairly baffled by the vast array of differences in sexuality they had discovered during their illicit forays onto the HoloNet, and every article seemed to have a slightly different idea. Kix was actually looking forward to finding out some of the truths behind it all, and the reason that people seemed to feel the need to give themselves a label that wasn’t their name. Maybe it was because most people were unique, and therefore sought similarities with others, whereas the vod’e were officially all the same, and sought their differences.

All that said, this was their first time around women other than the Jedi, and 4245 certainly seemed to be enjoying it so far. His new friend was standing up and reaching for his hand, she was leading him off somewhere…

Jesse swung himself to his feet quickly, and Rex was close behind him. Their new friends waved them back, laughing.

“He’ll be fine,” Blast said with a grin. “Kaily will take good care of him.”

They worried less when some of the Coruscant Guards left with other civilians. 8522 assured them that, yes, they were going to have sex, yes, it was fun, and, he said earnestly to Aurek and Besh, they should definitely try it some time.

 

.oOo.

 

4245 reappeared early in the morning, grinning from ear to ear, but said _nothing_ , which frustrated Jesse and Aurek no end. They wanted to know what a woman was like, and 4245 just told them they would have to find out for themselves one day.

(Besh was pretending not to be interested, or disappointed, because he wasn’t an asshole like his tube-mate.)

They visited 79s again that evening, with a few more brothers. 4245 disappeared off again, with a small, feisty human woman this time (or something close enough to human that Kix couldn’t tell the difference). Aurek and Besh approached the gaggle of women hand-in-hand, and were swept up by a delighted-looking lavender Zeltron. A few others, spurred on by the successes of their brothers, started conversations with the civilians. Some left with their new friends, others simply talked and/or kissed.

Kix and Jesse didn’t go every night, but their fourth visit led to Kix nudging Jesse towards Gela, a human woman with curly red hair who had been eyeing the pair of them with interest on their previous visit. It had felt odd, but it had also seemed right – to give Jesse the chance to experience sex beyond their relationship.

Kix and Rex headed back early that evening, but Kix hadn’t been able to sleep until Jesse had crept back in in the dead of the night, smelling of her perfume and something spicy, and curled himself around Kix just like he always did.

“Thought you’d be gone all night,” Kix whispered as Jesse nuzzled his neck, his arm sliding possessively around Kix’s waist.

“Didn’t seem right,” Jesse mumbled against his skin, “sleeping with someone else. The sex was nice, though. Thanks.”

Kix threaded his fingers through Jesse’s. “Is it different?”

Jesse hummed thoughtfully. “Yes. No. Did you know that women self-lubricate?”

Kix bit back a laugh because there were other brothers sleeping nearby. “Yes.”

Jesse sighed happily. “Of course you did. My clever medic. It was different, but, you know, still sex. Kind of less messy. But she’s not you.”

“Sap,” Rex mumbled from his bunk.

Kix sniggered. “What he said.”

 

.oOo.

 

4245 went off with a man, and came back limping slightly, but as tight-lipped as ever to everyone except Kix and Jesse.

“Does it always hurt that much?” he asked. “Because he seemed to enjoy it, but…”

They both draped an arm over his shoulder, bracketing him. “No, vod,” Jesse assured him. “You get used to it.”

Kix nodded agreement. “I actually prefer it,” he admitted.

“That’s because you’re lazy and let me do all the work,” Jesse grumbled. “The big question is: did your man hit the right spot?”

“Yesss,” 4245 said. “That’s a selling point, but I still think I prefer women.”

Jesse chuckled. “Be honest – you’d dip your stick into any willing hole.”

4245 shrugged cheerfully. “Yeah, that’s true. Hey, a dipstick is a thing, right?”

Jesse sniggered and Kix closed his eyes, fearing what he was about to hear.

“Yeah, it’s a thing for checking lubricant levels in engines,” Jesse said. “And I’ll pay you to explain that name to General Windu.”

4245 laughed. “First chance I get, I’ll take you up on that.”

Kix groaned. “You two are going to kill me. Heart attack.”

“Nah, you love us really,” Jesse said, sounding very certain.

“Just as well. Just hope that none of the Jedi ask where you got your name, Dipstick.”

There was a groan behind them. “Do I even want to know?”

It was General Kenobi, clearly just returned along with the 212th. Kix straightened to attention even as his stomach sank to somewhere around his knees.

Jesse, damn him to any and all hells, laughed. “Probably not, sir.”

The general looked slightly pained. “I do hope you boys are being careful during your excursions into Coruscant’s night life.”

“Careful, sir?” Dipstick asked.

Kenobi pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. “Oh dear.” He looked up at Kix. “Kix, round up as many of the 501st as you can, and meet me in the main briefing room in an hour.”

“Yes, sir,” Kix replied automatically, feeling very confused.

“Include as many of your brothers who visit the bar as you can. I feel that there are aspects of your social education that may be… lacking.”

 

.oOo.

 

Well, that had been enlightening. For someone who was supposed to be celibate (at least, according to what they knew of the Jedi), General Kenobi knew a lot about sex. He had given them and some brothers from the 212th a brief lecture about the risks of sex and that perhaps it wasn’t worth risking that a girl had an implant, or that a partner wasn’t carrying a transmissible infection that they weren’t immune to. He had told them there were certain devices that could be used to protect themselves against disease, or against the risk of impregnating a woman (which could potentially be disastrous, if their children grew as quickly as they did).

And, afterwards, he had fielded just about every conceivable question. About women, about men, about sexuality in general. He had been gracious, and tried his best not to baffle them with information on that subject. He had focussed on Coruscant, and said that basically, as long as everyone consented and was of age (a legal grey area for the clones, he admitted), then basically anything went – women, men, others, multiples therein. Relations between siblings, and between parents and their children, were frowned upon, but, he had pre-empted them, as long as things were kept low-key, he would turn a blind eye to any among them who were together.

He had looked directly at Jesse and Kix. Kix had nodded gratefully.

He had also explained, at a question from one of the older clones from the 212th, about asexuality. It was definitely a known phenomenon (as Jesse had discovered), and ranged from those like Cody, who just didn’t feel the urge at all, to those like Kix, who did, but only in certain circumstances. For certain people.

He had tentatively touched on kinks, brought up by Aurek, naturally. 559 had experienced the lion’s share of pornography, given that Jesse had been the main provider on Kamino (he was the one to slice into the HoloNet, and help bring something other than their dictated reading to their lives). Their squad had seen more than most of their brothers, including some truly weird stuff that hadn’t made it into general circulation. Kenobi had become a bit flustered at that, and told them that if they weren’t comfortable, anyone involved in any act could still say no at any point if they weren’t enjoying themselves. And maybe try to not get themselves into situations where they were restrained and/or gagged?

Unfortunately, he had given them a list of clubs near 79s where they probably shouldn’t venture until they were more experienced with the wider galaxy. That had, inevitably, led to quite a large number of brothers visiting that evening. A couple of the canny places had refused to admit the clones on the grounds of their age (apparently ten just wasn’t old enough for a human), but others hadn’t been so sensible.

Some brothers had returned from that trip worse for wear. Others had taken General Kenobi’s warnings to heart and been more canny about their consent. Aurek, perhaps having a little more knowledge than the others because of his wider consumption of porn, had enjoyed himself the most, much to Besh’s chagrin.

Kix demanded to know about the welts that he was treating Miles for. His only surviving birth-squad-mate had squirmed with embarrassment, and admitted to having picked them up from a very pretty Twi’lek lady in the club. Kix almost regretted asking how when Miles confessed that she had been wielding a whip.

Miles probably didn’t need the rant – the pain in his ass would be enough of a reminder of General Kenobi’s lecture – but Kix felt better about giving it. He also felt absolutely no shame whatsoever in telling Cody and Rex (without mentioning a specific name), who then bawled everyone out and banned anyone from going to any club or bar other than 79s; at least until they learned more about normal people.

Aurek, of course, soon discovered that some of the women who frequented 79s were more than willing to indulge certain kinks. Kaily particularly was fond of finding just which buttons she could push in willing brothers, but Kix and Rex decided to let that slide because she never went too far. Kix put that down to her innate empathy, especially after she came over one evening and talked to the pair of them while Jesse was hitting on her dusky compatriot, in order to put their minds at rest. She said she tended to take the newcomers, especially the nervous ones, because she knew what they wanted better than they did. And, for the same reason, she was willing to allow Aurek and any brother like him to explore other areas of sexual behaviour.

She sat with them for a while, just talking. Kaily turned out to be extremely intelligent; she was a senior attaché to the Zeltron senator, and had started coming to 79s to unwind and let off a little steam. She liked the clones, finding how they were different. And, she admitted, she enjoyed their stamina and enthusiasm too.

Kix found her attitude refreshing: not many people they had met took the time to see clones as individual people. It was a fact that was worrying those brothers who could see that the war would come to an end at some time or another, that they weren’t technically citizens of the Republic, and that even the senators didn’t seem to care about their army. But, with people like her in government, and the Jedi at their backs, maybe they had a chance of having a life after the war.

After that, Kaily became a friend – she always greeted them warmly whenever they returned to Coruscant, made time to have a drink with Rex and Kix, and twice went out of her way to introduce a male friend to Rex. She stopped after that, realising what Kix had long-since known – Rex wasn’t interested in sex for its own sake. He had a right hand for that kind of stress relief. He wanted what Kix and Jesse had, and he knew that wasn’t going to happen for him anytime soon.

(And, occasionally, if he truly felt the need for partners, he had Kix and Jesse. They were always willing to oblige their friend.)

 

.oOo.

 

It was odd: although Dipstick had acquired a name directly related to his activities at 79s, a lot of the unnamed men suddenly seemed to find something about themselves they wanted to use to identify themselves with. Kamino might be their homeworld, but Coruscant and 79s, somewhere they were accepted, became ‘home’ for the clones.


End file.
